Health Commun. 2025 Jun 5:1-12. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2025.2502450. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Uncertainty is an important construct in health and health communication. Health concerns have been prominent, especially after COVID-19, contributing to uncertainty about health status and widespread health anxiety, increasing the burden on medical resources. And there’s been an increase in the behavior of seeking health information on social networking sites (SNSs). The interaction between personalized recommendation algorithms on SNSs and individuals’ selective exposure preferences may create an echo chamber effect, presenting novel digital challenges for uncertainty management. Although past research has extensively explored the antecedents and consequences of health anxiety, few studies have considered the impact of uncertainty management and online technological factors in the health communication process. Therefore, guided by Uncertainty Management Theory (UMT) and selective exposure mechanisms, this study examined the mediating role of health information retrieval on SNSs between intolerance of uncertainty and health anxiety, along with the moderating role of the echo chamber effect. Survey data from 369 emerging adult SNS users supported the proposed model. Results revealed a positive association between intolerance of uncertainty and health anxiety, and the relationship was mediated by the health information retrieval on SNSs. The echo chamber effect intensified the association between health information retrieval on SNSs and health anxiety. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of related issues and offer empirical support for alleviating health anxiety and fostering improved health communication in the digital age.
PMID:40470575 | DOI:10.1080/10410236.2025.2502450
